


Devil's Playground

by UNITdaemon



Series: The Doctor-less UNIT au [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, UNIT
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-03-27 09:27:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13878000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UNITdaemon/pseuds/UNITdaemon
Summary: "Nothing struck her as odd. All she could see was the usual - the beach, the sea, people walking their dogs. The only thing that could be considered questionable was an old vintage toy shop."An investigation into disappearances at Blackpool leads the Brigadier, Liz, and Corporal Bell to play for their lives against the Celestial Toymaker. Part of the Doctor-less UNIT AU.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely have to thank the wonderful people that beta read this fic: donmarcojuande, onlythegeste, and rubiscothegeek, all of whom you can find on Tumblr. I'm so incredibly grateful for your help, and this story wouldn't be what it is without you all :)
> 
> Doctor Who and it's characters belong to the BBC - I'm just here to write fic about it.

The sun was high, the sky was bright, and somewhere a machine was making the most hideous beeping noise. Liz winced as she stepped outside, the constant alarm disagreeing with her immensely. On her holiday to Blackpool, Liz had been used to the squawking of seagulls and the laughter of beach goers. The incessant beeping cut through this somewhat.

Covering her ears, Liz set off down the street, eyes firmly on her target - the UNIT jeep parked outside her hotel. It had been a long time since she’d even heard UNIT mentioned - it was buried so deep in her past that weeks could go by without her so much as thinking about it. But the appearance of the jeep coupled with the disappearance of her friends and fellow researchers couldn’t be a coincidence. She practically had no choice but to investigate.

As she approached, she noticed the beeping getting louder. Whatever it was making the dreadful noise, it must be stored in the jeep. Liz wouldn’t have been surprised.

She watched as a woman hopped out of the vehicle looking rather frazzled. The woman jogged around to the back of the jeep and yanked off the tarpaulin covering the back seat. Liz had been right - the machine causing all the ruckus was brought by the UNIT woman. She watched with amusement as the woman fumbled with the small, circular device, smiling apologetically at the people shooting her irritated glares. 

Deciding she’d had enough of watching the poor woman struggle, Liz stepped in. “Do you need some help with that?”

She was ignored. Either that or she’d gone unheard. The latter was more likely, given the current noise level. Liz breathed out and tried again, only this time a little louder.

“Excuse me?”

That got her attention. The woman whirled around, machine still clutched in her hands, brownish-red hair stiff despite the wind. “Hm?”

Liz gave a bemused smile. She hoped she wouldn't have to repeat herself again. “I said, do you need some help with that?”

“No, no, it's alright,” the woman replied, even though it clearly wasn’t. “There’s nothing to see here.”

Liz rolled her eyes. She was sure she could figure out how to stop that machine. In fact, she vaguely remembered the Doctor building something awfully similar looking to it back in the old days. Perhaps it was the same machine? Even if it wasn’t, she decided to give it her best shot; so she strode over to the UNIT woman and grabbed the device from her hands.

There was a grunt of protest, but Liz was too preoccupied to listen to the words that followed it. Her eyes lit up when she found that it was indeed the machine she remembered, and that she’d had a hand in helping the Doctor put it together. Not that he ever told her what it was for, but at least she knew how it was built. With a small smile of satisfaction, Liz hit a series of buttons, and soon peace and order had been restored. She’d never been more grateful to hear a seagull in her life.

She turned to the UNIT woman, who looked more than surprised that a mere civilian knew how to work the damn thing. “There, I think that’ll do the job.”

The UNIT woman blinked as Liz thrust the thick metal disc back into her hands. “Right, thanks. Now, I think you should move alo-”  

“Aren’t you going to ask how I knew to do that?” Liz leaned against the jeep, cocking an eyebrow. The other woman must be new to UNIT, as Liz certainly didn’t recognise her. Judging from the insignia on her uniform, she was a corporal. 

“You have got me wondering.” The corporal turned to put the machine in the back seat. “But I’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“Like what?” Now was Liz’s chance to find out if she was there investigating the disappearances. If so, the two women were going to get very well acquainted.

“I’m afraid that’s restricted, ma’am. Now if you’d please just move along, that would be marvellous.” Now that the initial fluster from the machine’s misbehaviour had died down, the UNIT woman held a sort of authority that had Liz impressed. If she were just an average citizen who hadn’t worked for the same organisation four years ago, she would’ve left right away.

But she didn't. 

When the UNIT woman saw Liz making no move to leave, she glared at her and took steps towards her. “Ma’am, please. I’m grateful for your help, but it’s really time you-”

“Oh, it’s no bother,” Liz said with a smile. “I’m just glad the Doctor thought to add an off switch.”

The UNIT woman froze, blinking in disbelief. Liz couldn’t help but feel a little satisfied - maybe now she’d stop referring to her as a civilian. The woman took a moment to compose herself, but Liz’s name-drop had clearly startled her. “Oh, uh, which Doctor was that?”

Liz laughed. “I think there’s only one Doctor I could possibly be talking about.”

“But, how do you…” the woman trailed off. The corporal couldn’t have been expecting her first conversation in Blackpool to go anything like this, which didn’t make all that much sense to Liz, considering the Doctor hardly kept himself out of the spotlight. Almost everyone had at least heard of the Doctor, whether they knew him personally or not.

She decided it was time to put the UNIT woman out of her misery. “I’m Liz Shaw, I used to work at UNIT HQ.”

“Doctor Elizabeth Shaw?” When Liz nodded, the woman’s eyes lit up. “Oh! The Brigadier’s told me all about you.”

Liz started. Did the Brigadier still talk about her after all these years? “Has he now?”

“Yes,” the woman replied, then added with a smile. “All good things, so you don’t need to worry. He said you’d gone to Cambridge.”

“I did, that’s right.” Suddenly, Liz remembered why she’d approached the jeep in the first place. “I came down here with some friends from university. For a holiday.”

“Sounds nice.” The woman had taken up a more relaxed stance, mimicking Liz in leaning against the jeep.

Liz agreed with a nod. “It was, but now they’ve gone missing. I was looking for them for most of yesterday.”

The woman’s gaze fell to the machine, then back up to Liz. “Well, I think we’re on the same page. The Doctor’s device started going off not long before we read about the disappearances in the paper. The Brig sent me down here to see if they were connected or not.”

Liz remembered reading the story in the paper herself, about how her friends were only three of nine people who had vanished over the past week. All of them were last seen at the Pleasure Beach, and even now Liz could see policemen wandering the premecise. One of them was giving the UNIT jeep a dodgy glance, but it didn’t seem to bother the corporal in the slightest. Either that, or she just didn’t notice.  

“We’d have a better chance of discovering the connection if we knew what this machine was for…” Liz grumbled, but the woman’s reply surprised her.

“According to the Brig it’s for detecting otherworldly forces. What constitutes an otherworldly force, I have no idea, but apparently there’s one to be dealt with.”

Liz pursed her lips, then sighed. “We’re going to have to turn it on again, aren’t we?”

The woman raised an eyebrow. “We?”

“I’m not planning on sitting back while my friends are in possible danger. If the Doctor’s machine going off is connected to whatever happened to them, I want to help as much as I can,” Liz explained.

“That’s fair enough,” the woman said with a quick bob of her head. “But I’m afraid I’ll need some ID if I’m going to let you in on the case.”

At that point, Liz kicked herself for not having her old UNIT pass on her. “Would a driver's license do?”

“I suppose,” the UNIT woman replied as Liz dug around in her wallet. She produced the license and handed it to the corporal. After glancing it over, she said: “That checks out, so it looks like you’re with me. It’ll be good to have some company - especially from a brain box like you.”

It was odd to think of this complete stranger knowing so much about her just from the Brigadier’s words alone, particularly when Liz knew so little about her new friend. As the woman leant over to get the machine from the backseat, Liz posed a question she should’ve asked ages ago.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

The woman straightened up again, machine in hand. “Corporal Carol Bell, at your service.”

 

Liz wasn’t at all surprised at the number of quizzical stares and yells of complaint they received as a result from the never ending beeping of the Doctor’s machine. Bell had explained that the beeping grew louder the closer it got to what it was tracking - it was almost difficult to hear back at HQ, and the volume of it increased the closer she got to Blackpool. 

Although Liz doubted the machine was the only reason they were getting the stink eye. Bell’s military uniform was bound to draw glances and stir up panic. A member of the armed forces holding a shrill machine of unknown origin wasn’t exactly a comforting image. 

“God, I hope this thing shuts up when we find it,” Bell grumbled, raising her voice so Liz could hear her.

“Do you think it will?” Liz asked.

“It’d better…”

They continued their stroll along the street until a thought came to Liz. “Corporal?”

“Hm?”

“Why didn’t the Brigadier send the Doctor himself? Was he too busy to come down?”

Bell frowned, twisting her mouth and racking her brain for a reply. “Uh, he’s sort of… gone AWOL.”

Liz raised her eyebrows. “You mean he finally upped and left in that TARDIS of his?”

“Something like that.”

Before Liz could reply, they were stunned by the sound of silence. Both women looked down at the machine, pleasantly surprised that the din had finally stopped. But why? Either they’d found the otherworldly force or it had beeped itself out of battery. Liz glanced around, looking for anything that suggested the former.

Nothing struck her as odd. All she could see was the usual - the beach, the sea, people walking their dogs. The only thing that could be considered questionable was an old vintage toy shop, which hardly appeared threatening.

“You don’t suppose it’s in there?”

“What, that old place?” Bell asked, looking at Liz with disbelief. “Looks harmless to me.”

“I’m surprised your definition of harmless hasn’t been warped by your job,” Liz muttered, stepping towards the white wooden door of the shop. She pushed her hand against the door, only to find that it wouldn’t budge. She tried again, only this time she closed her hand around the handle and pulled. The door remained shut.

“Maybe it’s closed?”

“Well, they’re going to have to open for us.” Bell set the machine down on the pavement, then strode towards the door. Rapping her knuckles against it, she called out. “Hello? Anyone in there?”

When there was no reply, she tried again, but to no avail. She stepped back and folded her arms, sighing heavily. 

“Any luck?” Liz asked, coming up behind her.

Bell shook her head. “Either no one’s in or they’re ignoring me. Maybe I should mention we’re from UNIT?”

“Well, you are. I haven’t worked at UNIT for four years now.”

A cheeky grin played on Bell’s lips, and she whispered. “They don’t need to know that…”

Liz failed to suppress a smile of her own. “Look, why don’t you keep trying to get in, and I’ll ask around if anyone’s noticed anything odd about the shop, alright?”

“Alright,” Bell confirmed with a small nod. Liz turned her back on the corporal and ventured out onto the street, targeting the first passerby she saw.

He was lanky, covered in acne, and over the moon to see a woman in a miniskirt approaching him. Liz flashed him her best smile, hoping she’d get more information out of him if she was pleasant to be around. 

“Hi,” she greeted, slightly amused as the boy’s eyes lit up on account that she was  _ actually talking to him _ . “I was just wondering if you’d noticed anything strange about that toy shop over there.”

The boy’s gaze followed her arm as she pointed to the shop, which Bell was still struggling to gain entry to. “Not really. Can’t say I ever noticed it before.”

“Are you sure? This is quite important.” Liz was beginning to wonder if she should’ve gone the stern, authoritative route instead. 

“Sorry miss, but I really haven’t.” Liz frowned. She would’ve liked a bit more effort, but he seemed sincere. Then again, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who would pay attention to vintage toy shops.

“That’s alright. Thanks anyway,” she said, waving him off. He left somewhat reluctantly, probably hoping that their one interaction would’ve been longer and flirtier. But that was the least of Liz’s problems, as she quickly moved on to interrogate the next passerby.

It was all the same - “I haven’t seen anything.” “I didn’t even know there was one there.” “Why do you want to know anyway?” None of it was particularly helpful, so Liz returned to Bell feeling rather defeated. It did make her feel slightly better that Bell had similar luck with getting into the shop - she was rubbing her shoulder as if she’d tried to smash the thing down.

“Find anything?” Bell asked, eyeing the door with contempt.

Liz shook her head. “It’s as though it doesn’t even exist.”

“Maybe that’s a clue?” Bell suggested.

“Perhaps - hey, what’s that?”

Liz was referring to was a small slip of paper that had slid out from under the door. Bell grabbed onto it before it was picked up by the wind, and unfolded it, reading aloud the words scrawled onto it.

_ Want to play? _

Bell wrinkled her nose. “Strange.” 

“Still,” Liz started, grabbing the note to read for herself. “It’s practically proof that something off is going on in there.”

“Think I should phone HQ?”

Liz took a moment to think, then nodded. “You’d better, just in case.”

Bell glanced around the street until her eyes fell on an empty telephone box. Liz watched as she jogged across the road, then her gaze fell back on the slip of paper. It was sort of sinister, both threatening and inviting at the same time. Maybe if they replied to it, they’d be able to get inside? 

For a moment, Liz contemplated scribbling out a reply and slipping it back under the door. She’d better not. If whatever was through there was dangerous, she didn’t fancy facing it without Bell at her side.

 

As Bell waited for the Brigadier to pick up, she fixed her attention on Liz. The red headed scientist was still standing by the shop, reading over the note as if more than three words were printed on it. She didn’t know what it was, but there was something about Liz that was different to anyone else she’d ever met before. Bell wasn’t one for trusting others easily, and she never let anyone in on UNIT business without knowing them well first. Yet there she was, letting an absolute stranger help with the investigation. But the moment Bell had laid eyes on her, she knew that Liz was someone she could trust.

The Brigadier’s voice over the phone took Bell from her thoughts. “UNIT HQ.”

“It’s Corporal Bell here, sir,” she began, stuttering at the start. “I’ve made some progress.”

“Go on.”

Bell looked back over at the shop. “Well, the Doctor’s machine led to a toy shop which is almost impossible to get into.”

She could almost see his eyebrow raising. “And why do you suppose that is?”

“I’m not sure. There was a note, though, asking us if we wanted to play. That raised enough questions for me to want to call you,” Bell explained. 

The Brigadier took a moment to consider what he’d just heard. “And it’s absolutely impossible for you to get in?”

“We’ve tried everything short of a battering ram,” Bell said with a shake of her head. 

“I see… Well, if you find anything else out of the ordinary, let me know.”

“Will do,” Bell said, and she went to hang up the phone until the Brigadier’s voice sounded once more.

“Corporal, are you with someone?”

Bell looked over at Liz, who was now leaning against the window of the shop. “Yes. Why do you ask?”

“You’ve been saying we.”

Bell didn’t blame the Brigadier for asking - he deserved to know who knew what when it came to top secret UNIT business. “Oh, I just ran into that friend of yours from Cambridge.”

“Doctor Shaw?” It was funny, he almost sounded hopeful. Maybe they would get him down to Blackpool after all.

“Mmhm. She’s friends with some of the missing people, so she wants to help.”

“I see.” There was a moment of silence. Bell could imagine him sitting at his desk, mulling over the information he received. He was probably doing something with his hands, drumming his fingers against the surface, rolling a pencil between his fingers. It was something she’d noticed him doing recently, always busy with his hands. “And what does Doctor Shaw think about what you’ve found?”

“That it’s suspicious enough to call you.”

“Right. Perhaps I’d better come up then.” 

Bell found it amusing that he would be prepared to come to Blackpool the moment he knew Liz would be there, but at the same time she was a little disappointed. They must have been close if he would come to see her just like that, and no doubt they’d spend quite some time catching up with each other. Bell would’ve liked more time on her own with Liz.

“Yes, I think you’d better.” Bell hoped the disappointment didn’t show through in her voice too heavily.

“I’ll be there first thing in the morning. Goodbye, Corporal.”

“See you then, sir.” 

With that, she hung up the phone.   


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued thanks to my beta readers! Also, this chapter makes reference to one of my other stories, "Goodbye Doctor Shaw," so give it a read if you fancy some context.
> 
> Doctor Who and it's characters belong to the BBC - I'm just here to write fic about it.

“So tell me about these friends of yours.”

Deciding that they’d better not do anything until the Brigadier arrived, Liz invited Bell back to her hotel room for the rest of the day. She’d much rather be getting on with the investigation, Brigadier or no Brigadier, but Bell was rather insistent. She just hated the thought of her friends being in danger while she sat around doing nothing, and she really had tried to put up a fight. But, unsurprisingly, Bell was a tough old thing who wouldn’t budge once she’d made a decision.

As they ambled down the beachfront back to the hotel, Liz responded to Bell’s question with one of her own. “In detail?”

“Well, are any of them the kind of person who would walk into possibly dangerous toy shops without thinking?”

Liz looked down at the Doctor’s machine, which she’d been tasked with carrying. “No, not really. I think the only one who would is Morgan, but she’s much more sensible than that.”

“Does she like that sort of thing? Toys, I mean.”

“A little,” Liz said as they arrived at the hotel entrance. “She’s held onto her childhood teddies, but that’s about it.”

Bell stepped through the door as Liz held it open for her. She glanced around the foyer, which was wholly unremarkable. A little tacky, in need of a good vacuum. Exactly what she’d been expecting.

“We’re upstairs,” Liz told her, already making her way towards the carpeted stairs. Bell followed after her, hoping Liz’s room would be more pleasant than the foyer. She was led down a long corridor then around a corner until Liz stopped by one of the wooden doors that lined the hall. After turning her key in the lock, she pushed through into the room.

Fortunately, Liz’s hotel room was far nicer than the rest of the building. The window overlooking the spacious living room had a great view of the beach, and a small dining table sat right in front of it. The blue floral wallpaper did remind Bell of her grandmother, but the wooden trim set it off nicely. She didn’t think she’d mind having this room as a sort of base camp, especially with Liz for company.

“This is nice,” she said, shrugging off the jacket of her uniform and draping it over one of the living chairs.

“I’ve certainly had worse,” Liz remarked as she made her way towards the kitchenette. “Tea?”

“Coffee, if you have it.”

Liz gave her a nod and set about preparing the coffee. Bell sat herself down, glancing around the room. She was growing rather fond of the wallpaper - she’d always liked a good floral. But there was only so much time you could spend looking at wallpaper, and Bell’s time was nearly up. Her mind refocused on the rest of the day. Mainly, what they were going to do with it. Before she got any time to think, Liz arrived with two steaming mugs of coffee.

Bell appreciatively took the drink and sipped at it quietly, with Liz doing the same.  “So, you said that one of your friends - Morgan, was it? - liked toys. What about the others?”

“Hmm.” Liz set her mug on the coffee table. “I think Jeremy and Kiera would scoff at the idea of visiting a toy shop.”

“Too old for it, were they?” Bell asked, and Liz smiled and ducked her head.

“Far too old. But that doesn’t really help us figure out why they would’ve gone there, does it?”

“Unless Morgan dragged them along?”

Liz shook her head emphatically. “No. Morgan’s not the kind of girl to drag anyone anywhere.”

Bell sighed, resting her elbow on her knee and her chin on her hand. They were rather stuck. First of all, if no one from Liz’s group was interested, why would they have gone to the shop in the first place? Bell figured they must’ve done, given that the toy shop was their only lead as well as being the only thing in Blackpool that was remotely suspicious. 

But then there was also the question of how they got in. If it was impossible for Bell and Liz, how did three researchers for Cambridge University get in with no trouble? Unless it had something to do with the note…

“Do you want to know the funny thing?” Liz started, bringing Bell out of her thoughts. “When they went missing, we weren’t anywhere near that shop.”

“Really?” Bell took another sip of her coffee.

“We were out by the pleasure beach. I popped off to find a loo, and they said they’d wait for me. When I got back, they were gone.”

Bell held her head in her hands. “The mystery deepens…”

“Maybe we should go back,” Liz suggested. “We might get another one of those notes.”

“Later. I want more time to think about this.”

The two women sat in silence, drinking their coffee and mulling over the information they had. 

A while later, Liz brought up the issue of the police, which hadn’t crossed Bell’s mind at all. Surely they’d object to UNIT interfering in their own investigation? But Bell had dismissed it on the grounds that the police would have fewer leads than they did. It would be a while before the police would get to the toy shop, and hopefully UNIT would have the whole thing sorted by that time. 

For now, it was just a matter of waiting.

 

After exhausting their conversation about the investigation, Liz had decided she wanted to know what UNIT had been up to in her absence. Fortunately for her, Bell had a wealth of stories up her sleeve, and they managed to chat their way long into the evening.

“Gosh, I remember reading about the evacuation in the paper,” Liz said, taking a sip of the wine she’d ordered with room service.

“Did you read why?” Bell asked. When Liz shook her head, a grin broke out on her face. “Well, you’ll never guess.”

Liz pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at Bell as she thought. “Nestene invasion number three?” 

“Not even close.”

“More Daleks?

Bell shook her head and gave the answer with relish. “Dinosaurs.”

“You mean Silurians?” Liz asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“No. Real dinosaurs from the stone age. It caused quite the stir.”

Liz chuckled. “I’d be worried if they came from the stone age.”

“Why’s that?” Bell asked, knitting her brow together.

“Because they were long gone by then. You’re thinking Mesozoic.”

Bell smiled. “Common knowledge at Cambridge, I suppose?”

“Most of the time. Anyway, let me guess what happened next.”

“Alright.”

“The Doctor saved the day?”

Bell lifted her glass in a salute. “Correct! How could you tell?”

“Oh, I had a hunch.”

Bell laughed, and soon Liz joined in. She was enjoying Liz’s company so much she almost forgot that the reason she was there in the first place was official UNIT business. She was beginning to regret this wasn’t just a simple seaside holiday - Bell rather liked the idea of spending a weekend by the beach with Liz, uninterrupted by aliens and military carry on. But that would be too good to be true, wouldn’t it?

“That was quite recent though, wasn't it?” Liz asked, and Bell took a moment to figure out that they were still on the topic of dinosaurs.

“Yes, just a few months ago now. Nothing too exciting happened after that, though there was a bit of hubbub about a crystal a while ago. And not long after that, the Doctor left.”

Liz looked down at her empty glass, which she’d put on the coffee table beside her equally empty plate. “I wonder who’ll save the day now?”

“We will,” Bell replied with confidence. “I think we’ll be able to manage just fine without the Doctor holding our hands. Although I think the Brig will need to hire a new scientific adviser…”

Bell noticed Liz’s eyes lighting up, but they soon fell back to her glass. “I’m sure he’ll find someone.”

Silence filled the room, neither Liz or Bell knowing what to say next. From her reaction, Bell couldn’t help but wonder if Liz wanted her old job back now that the Doctor was gone. Yet she seemed hesitant - why? Had something happened during her time at UNIT that made her reluctant to return? Or perhaps it was just a matter of Liz being comfortable with her current job, yet also wanting the excitement of her old one. 

“I don’t suppose you’d be interested?” Bell ventured. She knew it wasn’t her place to go around offering people jobs, as that was the Brigadier’s responsibility. But he’d probably ask her anyway, so why not save him the trouble?

Liz looked up, a little startled by the question. “You mean going back to UNIT?”

“Yes,” Bell said with a nod. “I know lots of people will be happy to have you there.”

Liz sighed. “I don’t know if I could ever go back to that after all these years.”

“You might surprise yourself.”

The corners of Liz’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Maybe. But the university is good for me, and I just can’t see myself leaving that all behind.”

It was worth a shot, but Bell wasn’t planning on forcing Liz into something she didn’t want to do. It was a shame, really. From what the Brigadier had said about her, she really was a brilliant young woman. Despite only knowing her for less than twenty-four hours, Bell felt it would be a privilege to work alongside her. 

“I think I’ll go to bed now,” Liz said. She stood up and started gathering up the empty plates and glasses, and Bell quickly hopped up to do the same. “When did you say the Brigadier will be coming?”

“He said the first thing in the morning,” Bell replied. “Getting some early sleep is a good idea, actually.”

“For all we know, first thing in the morning could be five AM,” Liz added with a chuckle.

As the Liz made her way to her bedroom, Bell spoke one more time. “You will think about it, won’t you? Becoming the scientific adviser?”

Liz stopped by the door, hand resting on the frame. “I might.”

She disappeared into her room. Left alone in the kitchenette, Bell sighed and leaned against the counter, eyes raised to the roof. All this talk of scientific advisers had made her forget about the problem at hand. What would tomorrow hold for them? Would they be able to get into the toy shop and rescue Liz’s friends with little to no trouble?

Or would there be something far more dangerous lying within?

 

Getting an early night had seemed like a good idea until Liz found that she just couldn’t get to sleep. 

Her mind was whirring with thoughts of the day ahead - she’d already been worrying herself sick over her friends the night before, and now she had a pile of other things dropped on top. Liz had thought UNIT’s presence would set her mind at ease since they generally knew what they were doing. And it was good to work with an organisation she trusted, especially since she doubted how helpful the police would be in this situation.

Yet somehow the arrival of UNIT had set her on edge even more. It was no fault of the company she kept - Bell was the kind of person she liked to have around. But seeing the uniform and the jeep and the Doctor’s machine brought back memories of her time working with them. About how she felt when she was always sidelined by the Doctor’s brilliance. How no one seemed to trust her judgement as much as the Doctor’s. It was hurtful. She’d spent years of her life working towards a position like that, but the Doctor came in and took it away from her after thwarting one alien invasion.

Liz exhaled. She was probably overthinking this. Her time with UNIT wasn’t really so bad, was it? The Doctor was just a blemish on an otherwise thrilling part of her life. She had genuinely enjoyed working alongside the soldiers, inventing devices and machines that could stop the bad guys, and being able to help the Brigadier whenever he needed her.

The Brigadier. She was going to see him soon.

She’d had a good relationship with him. He was one of the few who seemed to value her as much as he valued the Doctor, which had always made her feel wonderful. But facing him after leaving so abruptly was somewhat frightening. Liz didn’t know if he’d be angry or happy to see her. Maybe he’d have no reaction, with her being just a distant memory of days gone by.

Liz had never forgotten their last moments together. She’d kissed him that day at the station, just as her train had pulled up. That kiss was a memory she treasured, even four years on. But she’d assumed the fact that she’d never heard from him since was a sign that nothing would come of it. There was a possibility that meeting him tomorrow would dredge those feelings and memories back up again, and their feelings towards each other would finally be made clear.

Either that or they’d carry on like the whole thing never happened.  

 

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart couldn’t remember the last time he’d been to Blackpool. It was long before he joined the army, that much he knew for certain. So when he stepped out of his car, he realised that the scent of the sea was one he’d forgotten about. It was in that moment, standing under the hot sun, that he remembered how much he disliked the seaside. He hoped that Bell had found something that genuinely needed his attention, or he’d be rather peeved about being dragged all the way up to Blackpool.

_ Speak of the devil _ , he thought as he spotted the Corporal dashing out of a nearby hotel to greet him. It was astounding, he thought, that even with the wind and the running, Bell’s hair didn’t move once. 

“Good morning, sir!” she called out as she made her way towards him. “I’m glad you could make it.” 

After taking a moment to catch her breath, she stood up straight and gave him a sharp salute. He nodded. “At ease, Corporal. Now, I hope you’ve called me here for a good reason.”

“Well, you heard me on the phone,” she said, relaxing. “Strange toy shop and all that.”

It was then that the Brigadier remembered another part of their conversation. “Yes… Is Doctor Shaw with you?”

“Don’t worry sir, she’s on her way,” Bell said with a smirk on her lips. She had a knowing look in her eye, and if it weren’t for the more casual relationship he had with his personal staff, he’d reprimand her. 

Before he had the chance to respond, however, Liz stepped out of the hotel entrance. It was astounding. After not laying eyes on her for four years, the Brigadier would’ve thought she’d have changed. But there she was, looking just as she did all those years ago, just as beautiful and utterly radiant as she had that evening at the station.  

The Brigadier had to stop himself. For all he knew, there was nothing like that between them anymore. It was inappropriate to think of Liz like that. But when she looked up and met his eyes, a smile forming on her lips, he suddenly wasn’t sure how he’d spent so much time without her.

“Now that we’re all here, shall we get a move on?” Bell asked as Liz approached them. But it was clear that neither the Brigadier nor Liz had heard a word she said.

“It’s good to see you again, Doctor Shaw,” he greeted her, trying to repress the smile threatening to break out.

“The same to you. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” She sounded lighter, happier. It seemed as though the time she spent away from UNIT had been good for her.

“Rather.” It was funny. Even though he’d been thinking about this meeting for most of the drive over, now that the time had come he had no idea what to say. She was holding his gaze, her grey-green eyes boring into the Brigadier’s own dark brown ones. It was so easy to get lost in them...

Bell spoke up, hoping they’d pay attention to her this time. “So, I seem to remember we were going to visit that toy shop today?”

“Yes, of course,” Liz said. “We’ll lead the way.”

“Come on then, sir,” Bell said, looking more eager than she probably should be. “I don’t think this is the kind of mystery that will solve itself.”

The Brigadier smirked at the Corporal’s gumption and followed on as the two women started towards the toy shop. Now that he’d been reunited with Liz, he decided he wouldn’t mind if Bell’s suspicions led to nothing. While it would be a blow to the investigation, it would be nice to have an excuse to spend some more time with Liz. 

But the chances of that happening were very low indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider this the calm before the storm, my lovely readers. But while you wait for said storm, tell me what you thought of this one in a comment?


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued thanks to my beta readers!
> 
> Doctor Who and it's characters belong to the BBC - I'm just here to write fic about it.

The Brigadier looked the toy shop over, narrowing his eyes as he tried to figure out what exactly had caught Liz and Bell’s attention. It looked perfectly normal. There was the issue surrounding the door, which Bell had mentioned over the phone. But surely they’d be able to get through it with a bit more force?

“Aside from the door, have you noticed anything else strange about this place?” asked the Brigadier, glancing down at Bell.

“There was the Doctor’s machine, of course,” Bell started. “And no one seems to realise that the shop exists.”

“I went around and asked,” Liz chimed in. “There wasn’t a single person who knew anything about this place.”

“I see.” The Brigadier folded his hands behind his back. “So, as I gather, our only lead is a dead end.”

“Not quite.” Liz shoved a hand in her pocket and produced a slip of paper, then handed it to the Brigadier. “There was this as well.”

He took the note from Liz, unfolding it and reading it over.

 

_ Want to Play? _

 

It was rather ominous. He wasn’t sure if it would lead anywhere, but it was better than nothing. He sighed and handed it to Liz, who stored it back in her pocket. 

“What do you make of it?” Liz asked.

“Not much at all,” the Brigadier replied, his eyes falling on the door. It didn’t look that difficult to break through. It was wooden, covered in flaky white paint, with a dirty golden doorknob glinting in the sun. He tested his weight against it, surprised when it didn’t so much as creak.

“I tried that yesterday,” Bell said. “Believe me - nothing works.”

“We just need more force, that’s all,” the Brigadier replied, rubbing his hands together. He wondered about going at it with his shoulder, but a piece of white paper flying out from under the door caught his eye before he could think on it any longer.

He grabbed it, and the two women gathered around him in interest. He held it out so they could read it.

 

_ Changed your mind? _

 

“Whoever’s sending them must be able to see outside, if they can recognise us,” Liz remarked, her brow furrowed.

“You don’t suppose we could reply, somehow?” Bell asked, looking from Liz to the Brigadier.

The Brigadier reached for the pen he always kept on him. “Let me try this.” He pressed the paper against the wall so that the blank side was facing him, and started writing out a quick reply -  _ We want to play _ . After holding it up in front of the approving eyes of Liz and Bell, he kneeled down to slide it back under the door.

Nothing happened. Bell breathed out a sigh of frustration, and Liz was pinching the bridge of her nose. The Brigadier stepped back, trying not to dwell on the apparent failure of their idea, and instead focus on what they could do next.

Until, that is, the doorknob started to turn.

Bell looked to her commanding officer with excitement. “Looks like we’re finally getting somewhere.”

The door swung open of its own accord. But instead of the dusty, abandoned toy shop the trio had expected, they found a wall of light. The colours blue and purple blurred together, creating a psychedelic pattern in the doorframe. The Brigadier could hear it pulsing, the sound a low thrumming in his ears.

“Well, you don’t see that every day,” Liz remarked, the light reflecting in her eyes.

“I should hope not.” The Brigadier took a tentative step forward. 

“Be careful, sir,” Bell said, keeping a close eye on his movements. 

As she spoke, the Brigadier took his pen once more and dipped it into the light. He expected it to catch on fire, or at least to smoke, but nothing of the sort happened. Pulling it out, he took a moment to consider his next action. Since the pen remained unscathed, he took a risk and poked his fingertips into the illuminated wall. All it did was warm him a little, nothing more, so he drew his hand out and turned to his friends.

“It seems harmless enough. I think we should go in.”

Liz was quick to respond. “Shouldn’t one of us stay out here? Just in case something goes wrong.”

“If the people back at HQ don’t hear from me or the Brigadier, they’ll know to come up,” Bell reassured her. “I can let someone know if you like.”

“Thank you, Corporal,” the Brigadier said with a nod. Bell turned and made her way towards the same phone booth she’d used the day before, leaving the Brigadier alone with Liz.

She was eyeing the door with concern, a finger absentmindedly twirling a lock of ginger hair. Liz didn’t look scared - after the things she’d seen at UNIT, the Brigadier would have been surprised if anything frightened her anymore. Instead, she simply looked wary, like passing through the light meant more to her than it did to the Brigadier or Bell.

The clicking of Bell’s heels sounded her return. “I’ve just been on the phone with Corporal Hawke. She says that if they don’t hear from us by five o’clock tonight, she’ll come down with some troops. I told her about the toy shop, so they’ll know where we are.”

Funny. The Brigadier thought he’d left Benton in charge while he was away… But that was the least of his worries. “Excellent. Let’s go.”

Before the Brigadier could stop her, Bell stepped through first, vanishing as her body was consumed by the light. Liz disappeared into the toy shop soon after, even as the Brigadier protested her going in before him. Taking a deep breath, the Brigadier followed on, stepping through the light and into the darkness.

The door slammed shut behind him.

 

At first, it felt like Liz was falling. She’d gone through expecting to find solid ground, but there was only empty air below her. She couldn’t see Bell below or hear the Brigadier from above. She was completely alone in a black void, drifting slowly through the vast expanse of nothingness. It lulled her into unconsciousness, and she never noticed when her body finally hit the floor.

Sometime later, she was awoken by short, repetitive buzzing sounds. Her eyes drifted open, a neon green light just discernible in her blurred vision. She blinked a few times, clearing her vision in the process. Now that she could see properly, the neon green light revealed itself as a flashing sign spelling out the word “welcome.”

Liz forced herself to sit up, taking in the rest of her surroundings as she did so. The entire room was covered in a rainbow of neon signs, all spelling out different words and phrases that made no sense whatsoever. Other than the mess of colour and light, the room itself was plain black, a dark curtain in the corner just visible in the light from the signs. As she turned her head to take in the rest of the room, her gaze fell on two figures lying behind her.

Her eyes lit up, recognising them as Bell and the Brigadier. But before she could make any moves to wake them up, someone called her name.

“Liz? Is that you?”

Liz turned to see a familiar face poking out from behind the curtain, and she couldn't help but smile as she laid eyes on one of the people she’d come to save.

“Kiera!” she cried, standing up and rushing towards her friend, pulling the brunette into a hug. “Thank goodness you’re alright.”

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Kiera said, relishing the embrace. She pulled away, looking Liz in the eye. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

“Are Jeremy and Morgan with you?”

Kiera nodded. “Yeah, but they were too scared to come out here and see what was going on. So, as usual, I have to step in and save the day.”

“I’d hardly call this saving the day,” Liz remarked, glancing back at the intense neons behind her. “I’m just as stuck as you are.”

Kiera frowned, tucking a lock of curly hair behind her ear. “Right.” As she spoke, her eyes fell on the two motionless forms on the ground. “Who are they?”

Liz turned to face her friends. “They’re friends from my old job. Before I came to Cambridge.”

“Really? Why are they dressed like that? Are they in costume?”

Liz winced as she realised that Kiera had no idea that she used to work for UNIT. No one did, aside from the members of UNIT themselves. She’d been instructed to keep it quiet, largely as a precaution of privacy, but also for her own safety. Liz hadn’t minded - the less she talked about UNIT the better. She’d made up some story about how she’d been stationed at a research facility in Wales, and no one had questioned her on it. 

Until now, that is.

“Look, I promise I’ll explain all of this later,” Liz said as she moved over to the unconscious Brigadier. She rested her hands on his shoulders, shaking him lightly. “Brigadier? Brigadier, wake up!”

Her prompting seemed to work, as soon the Brigadier was groaning as his eyes flickered open. “Doctor Shaw?”

“How are you feeling?” Liz elected to ignore Kiera’s puzzled gaze, deciding instead to focus on the well-being of her former boss.

He sat up, rubbing his head. It was bare now - his hat must have fallen off when they fell. “Yes, I’m fine. I think I bumped my head on the way down.”

Liz smiled despite herself. “It could’ve been much worse, you know.”

“I’m sure it could.”

As Liz moved on to wake up Bell, Kiera’s voice rang out. “Hey, Liz, I think I want that explanation now. Since when did you have anything to do with the army?”

“Not quite the army,” the Brigadier corrected. As he stood up to deal with Kiera, Liz breathed out in relief. As much as she cared for her, sometimes Kiera could be a bit much. 

Bell started to come to not long after Liz had reached her. She blinked a little to get her bearings, but she seemed alert enough afterwards. She looked around the room, squinting at the bright lights that surrounded her. She looked at Liz with confusion.

“This does not look like it did on the outside.”

Liz was about to respond when the sound of the curtains being drawn caught her attention, which also drew the gaze of the others in the room. Standing in a now revealed doorway were Jeremy and Morgan, Jeremy looking as posh as ever in a pristine white turtleneck, and Morgan mousy behind a too-big pair of glasses. 

Brown eyes lit up behind the lenses. “Liz!” Morgan cried, dashing towards her friend. Liz gathered her up into a hug, altogether delighted at being reunited with her friends.

“Nice of you to turn up,” Jeremy said, leaning against the wall.

Liz shot him a playful glare. “We did pretty well under the circumstances.”

“And those were?”

At this point, a rather put out looking Bell interjected. “We hardly had any evidence, thank you very much. You should count yourself lucky we found you when-”

“Calm down, Bell.” Having let Morgan go, Liz laid a hand on the Corporal’s shoulder. “That’s just how he is. You really are grateful, aren’t you Jeremy?”

His lips spread into a grin. “Of course I am.”

Having finished briefing the now dumbstruck Kiera, the Brigadier glanced at the three newcomers with curiosity. Liz watched as his expression turned to one of concern, and she couldn’t help but mirror it. “Is everything alright, Brigadier?”

“In the paper, it said there were nine of you missing,” he said, addressing Liz’s friends from Cambridge. “Yet there are only three of you here. Where are the other six?”

Liz frowned as Morgan’s face fell, and Kiera swallowed in discomfort. In the end, Jeremy was the one to speak up.

“There was this… man. He took them away to play all these horrid games.” He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. “They died. All of them. And he made us watch.”

Bell’s mouth dropped open. “What do you mean they died? How could they die from playing games?”

“You didn’t see them,” Kiera snapped. Her eyes were shining with tears, and it made Liz wonder if they’d stumbled into more danger than they’d bargained for. “It was awful. They were children’s games, the sort you’d play at school. But he kept on killing the losers until no one was left.”

“You keep mentioning a he,” the Brigadier said. “Can you tell us who that is?”

A disembodied voice boomed throughout the room, making several of its occupants jump. As it spoke, Kiera, Jeremy, and Morgan tensed, leaving no doubt that the owner of the voice was the man that had distressed them so.

“That’s an excellent question, Alistair.” The voice was that of an older man, yet it had a childish quality to it. Like a man refusing to grow up. “Why don’t you come through and say hello?”

Worried glances were exchanged throughout the group. Liz turned to Morgan, who looked positively scared out of her wits. “Is that him? The man Kiera was talking about?”

Morgan nodded, her eyes downcast. Liz wrapped an arm around her, pulling Morgan in close. Bell rose from where she’d been sitting on the floor. “Well, it looks like we’ve got no other options.”

“I’m not going through there,” Jeremy said, his voice quivering a little. “He’ll just try to kill us.”

“Then I suppose we’ll just have to fight back, won’t we?” Bell retorted, then she pushed past Jeremy and disappeared behind the curtain. The Brigadier soon followed after her, already telling Bell off for being so foolhardy.

Liz looked up at Jeremy, who appeared rather uncomfortable with the idea of going after them. “Bell’s right, you know. There’s no other option.”

“I know, but-”

“We’ll be able to get out of this,” Liz said, standing up and stepping towards the open doorway. “The Brigadier is one of the best, strongest men I know, and while I haven’t known her for long, I trust Bell a lot. With them on our side, we’ll be out of here before we know it.”   

 

Sitting atop a throne of letter blocks, the owner of the disembodied voice watched as Liz and her friends entered the room. He was surrounded by toys - dolls, robots, wooden animals. It was odd, the old-fashioned playthings amongst the garish neon signs. 

The man himself was older, just as his voice had suggested. His face was lined with wrinkles, and his grey hair had a pink glow to it from the sign hanging behind his head. He was draped in a wine coloured robe that reminded Liz of one her father used to own. Liz shifted as he scrutinised them, a fiendish smile playing on his lips.

“I’m so glad you could come.” He rose from his throne and stepped towards them, his deep red robes brushing against the dark flooring. “I was wondering when I’d be able to play again.”

“Tell us why you brought us here,” Bell ordered, wasting no time in getting what she wanted.

The man dismissed her, wiggling his finger at her like she was a misbehaving child. “Temper, temper. Now, I’ve already told you why you’re here. I want to play with you.”

“Like you played with the others?” Kiera snapped, giving the man the evil eye.

“Just like the others,” he replied with a slow nod. “I want you to play against each other. Six games. Last one standing gets their wish granted. I like the sound of that - don’t you?”

The Brigadier frowned. “Not particularly.”

“Well,” the man said, clasping his hands together. “You’re just going to have to deal with that yourself. I am, after all, the one in charge. You’re my subjects while you’re here, and I’ll do with you as I please.”

“And where exactly is ‘here’?” the Brigadier asked, folding his arms. 

The man flung out his arms, somehow managing to look maniacal and grand at the same time. “I am known as the Celestial Toymaker, and this is my Toy Room.”

The Toymaker’s mouth cracked into a smile, a fiendish twinkle dancing in his eye. Everything about him made Liz uncomfortable - the way he spoke to them, his childish demeanor, and the layer of sinisterness present with his every move. She didn’t want to play his games, become his toy. She didn’t want to do as he said. Her instincts told her to run, to find some other way out of the Toy Room.

But she had to listen to her own advice. She was with good, capable people. Together, they’d be able to win these games.

Bell rolled her eyes at the Toymakers display of dramatics. “I don’t suppose you’re giving us much choice, are you?”

“No, not at all,” the Toymaker said, shaking his head. “As I said, you’ll do as I say. I want you to play my games, so you will. Are there any other questions?”

“Yes,” Morgan said, speaking up for the first time. “If we beat you, can you promise us our lives?”

In response, the Toymaker started walking towards one of the walls adjacent to his throne. He rested his hand on a patch of wall devoid of neon lights, and suddenly it slid backwards, revealing a new doorway. Liz glanced through it - although she couldn’t see particularly well from her position, she could make out an oversized chessboard. 

The Toymaker held out an arm, gesturing for them to enter. “Why don’t you play to find out?”

 

The chessboard spread out wide before them, almost taking up the entire floor of the next room. However, no oversized pieces occupied the black and white squares - it was completely bare. Liz swallowed, dreading what the Toymaker had in store for them. From what he’d said earlier, Liz figured that they wouldn’t be able to move on to the next game unless one of them died. 

The fact that she probably wouldn’t live to see the end of the day sickened her.

“I’m quite good at chess,” Morgan said, stuttering a little. “I could help us win.”

“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong.” The Toymaker’s voice sounded again, despite him not being in the room with them. It was similar to when he’d first invited them into his throne room. “But I’ll leave it up to Jeremy to find out what’s right.”

Jeremy froze, eyes wide. “What? But why me? I-”

“You were so scared. I want you to have fun,” the Toymaker explained. When Jeremy remained still, he spoke again, only this time he sounded angry: “Come on, Jeremy. Play for me.”

The blond looked to Liz, fear plain on his face. She pursed her lips and looked up, raising her voice in the hope that the Toymaker would hear her.

“Let me go first.”

The Toymaker simply cackled in response, which shook Liz’s confidence somewhat. “Oh no, no, no. I want Jeremy to play. But since you’re so eager, you’ll be next.”

Liz noticed both Bell and the Brigadier widening their eyes at her as if to say “ _ what the hell did you do that for? _ ” She looked at both of them apologetically, then turned her attention to Jeremy. 

Reluctantly, he turned to face the board. Jeremy took his first step closer, drawing in a shaky breath as he went. The group watched anxiously as he stepped onto one of the black squares. Nothing seemed to happen, much to Liz’s delight. Jeremy hadn’t always been the nicest person out there, but she cared for him deeply. He was the first friend she made upon her return to Cambridge, and they’d been close ever since. She didn’t want to see him die like this.

The Toymaker goaded him. “Go on. Get to the other side.”

Jeremy made a few more tentative steps, then started to pick up the pace when nothing seemed to happen. Liz’s heart sped up - he was halfway through. If something were to happen, surely it would soon?

Unfortunately, Liz’s suspicions proved to be correct. As Jeremy’s foot landed on a white square, it swung out from below him. He quickly leaped backwards, narrowly avoiding tumbling down the gap it had created. He was breathing heavily, and for a moment it seemed he was safe. But then a tall, white stone knight rose from the darkness, bearing its sword proudly upon its horse. 

Liz clapped her hand over her mouth as the knight thrust its sword towards Jeremy. The action was so swift that he didn’t have enough time to avoid it, the blade stabbing right through him. Blood seeped through the wound, and he collapsed in a heap when the knight removed its weapon. As it descended back into the hole, Jeremy lay deathly still, his face permanently twisted in terror.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You remember that storm I was telling you about?
> 
> Enjoying the story so far? Let me know what you think in a comment!


	4. Chapter Four

Liz didn’t know what to do.

She’d just watched one of her closest friends get speared through the abdomen while she simply stood back, powerless to do anything. She couldn’t stop staring at Jeremy’s body, his once-perfect white turtleneck now drenched in his own blood. She wanted to look away. She really did. But she couldn’t.

“Why have you stopped?” The voice of the Toymaker echoed through the room, sounding like a petulant child. “I didn’t say you could stop.”

“You killed him,” Kiera whispered, her voice hoarse. Liz could hear Morgan sobbing, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bell pulling her close. The Brigadier had closed his eyes, his face drawn.

The Toymaker chuckled. “You all knew that was a possibility, didn’t you? I could’ve sworn I’d made that clearer…”

“You’ve made it clear enough,” the Brigadier retorted. 

“Oh, that’s good.” There was a sneer in his voice. “Now, I believe that Liz wanted to go next?”

Liz squeezed her eyes shut. She’d been so caught up in Jeremy’s death that she’d forgotten all about volunteering. After seeing what happened to Jeremy, the thought of stepping on that board made her feel sick.

She heard the clicking of high heels approaching, then Bell’s voice in her ear. “I can go instead if you’d like.”

“Oh for goodness sake! Why does everyone want to go against what I say?” The Toymaker’s sudden burst of anger made Liz jump. “If I say that Liz is going next, she will go next. Carol, you can go last now.”

Liz looked at the board. Jeremy’s body was still there, staring at her with wide, bulging eyes. She wasn’t sure if she could do it with a corpse watching her. 

But she had to. 

Liz stepped onto the board. If what happened to Jeremy gave her any clues, it was that certain squares activated those statue things. She needed to be careful where she walked. Remembering the tiles Jeremy had stepped on before his death, she followed his route until she paused at his body. She swallowed, trying to ignore how the toe of her boot had landed in his blood.

She stepped to the right, which was a good move as no giant, armed statues jumped out at her. Liz took a deep breath in. Now she was walking blind, with no prior knowledge to guide her. Scanning the board, she deduced that there was nothing to indicate whether a tile was dangerous or not. It seemed to be a challenge based on luck more than any sort of skill.

Her heart pounding, Liz walked onto the tile in front of her. Nothing happened - so far so good. She hopped to a white square diagonal from where she was standing before, and still, nothing happened. There were three rows of tiles between her and the other side. Perhaps she would make it after all?

She decided to continue along her diagonal route. But as she moved onto the next square, the tile slid out beneath her, and suddenly she was falling. Liz managed to grab on to the edge of the tile. Her friends cried out as she dangled, and she felt tears spring to her eyes.

Looking below her, she saw nothing but an empty void. It was the same as the one she fell through before she arrived in the Toy Room, but familiarity didn’t make it any less frightening. She felt tears springing to her eyes as she looked back up to the roof. 

Now she could hear footsteps above her, and then someone crying out in pain. She instantly recognised the voice as Bell’s. “Bell?” she called out, anxious for a reply. “Are you alright?”

“It’s not your turn, Carol,” the Toymaker said. Now that Liz was hanging in the void, he sounded much louder. “I said you’d go last, and you disobeyed me. Morgan, you go instead.”

Liz winced. Anyone but Morgan… She was the youngest of her friends at Cambridge, and easily the timidest. But she was so sweet and kind - the thought of her sprawled in a bloody heap like Jeremy made Liz feel sicker than she already did. 

Spurred on by a sense of protectiveness towards Morgan, Liz gritted her teeth and started to hoist herself out of the hole. She gripped the edge tightly, her knuckles turning white. Using all the upper body strength she could muster, she started to pull herself up. But she wasn’t strong enough - she simply fell back after mere moments of trying.

Liz took a deep breath, closing her eyes to gather her thoughts. When she felt something close around her hand she cried out, and she opened her eyes to be greeted by the round face of Morgan. Despite everything, her lips broke out into a smile at the sight of her friend, still alive and well. “Morgan!”

Together, they managed to pull Liz out of the void, and soon she was back on the board. She looked at her friends - Kiera breathing a sigh of relief, a frazzled looking Bell clapping her hands together, and the Brigadier simply looking at her with fondness.

“We haven’t got far to go,” Morgan said, bringing Liz back to the task at hand. She was right - they only had to cross two tiles before they were safe. Morgan helped Liz to her feet, and the two set off across the rest of the board.

Fortunately, they made it over without difficulty. When the Toymaker spoke again, his tone suggested that he wished Liz’s fall had ended in tragedy. “Congratulations. Off you go, Alistair.”

Liz watched anxiously as the Brigadier started his journey over the board. He seemed to remember the route Liz and Morgan had taken rather well, save for one instance where he misstepped on the last line of tiles. A stone block fell from the roof directly above him, but he managed to leap to safety before it could land. When it did, its weight shook the whole room.

“Well,” he said, composing himself. “That could’ve gone much worse.”

“I’m glad you made it,” Liz said - and she really meant it.

The Toymaker beckoned that Kiera went next. She copied the Brigadier, aside from the tile that summoned the stone, and made it over safely. When it was finally Bell’s time to go, she knew the drill and copied what Kiera had done before her.

“That’s my least favourite thing about this game,” the Toymaker sighed. “Once everyone gets the hang of it, nothing happens.”

“So, what’s up next?” Kiera asked. The young woman was clearly shaken - most of them were since Jeremy was killed - but she held herself in a way that suggested confidence. Liz had always admired that about her. She was so strong, even when times were tough.

There was a grin in the Toymaker’s voice. “Oh, it’s rather a good one. I’m sure you’ll all be very familiar with it.”

 

Another curtain had been pulled open behind them. Progressing through it, they found themselves in a blank, empty room, with one distinguishing feature that put Liz’s heart in her throat. 

Standing in the middle of the vast room was Jeremy. His wound was still there, blood dripping to the floor. His face had changed - no longer was it frozen in stiff terror. Instead, it was replaced by no expression at all, his eyes blank, his mouth slack and hanging open slightly, his skin pale and waxy.

“What is he doing here?” Kiera murmured, her voice thick. Liz wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close. 

“Well, I thought it would be a waste of a good corpse if I just left him there,” the Toymaker responded. “He’s your opponent. You’ll be playing statues.”

Bell’s eyes narrowed. “You mean, if he sees us move, he’ll kill us?”

“That’s right.” Liz gasped as someone pushed between her and Kiera, only to find that it was the Toymaker himself. He continued to speak as he made his way towards Jeremy. “Turn around.”

The corpse did as he was told and turned his back to the group, and Liz looked away when the wound still showed through his back. 

“I trust from Carol’s familiarity, you all understand how this game works?” the Toymaker asked. When the reply was affirmative, he grinned. “Good. Line up, now.”

The five players obeyed, organising themselves into a line. As the Toymaker called for them to move, Liz felt Bell squeeze her hand in support. She squeezed it back, and then they started their walk. The vast space seemed to grow as they went, and for a while, Liz thought they’d never reach him. 

She hated it, having to train her eyes on the dead body of one of her closest friends. She just wanted to look away, to blink and have him vanish. But he was always there, and with every step she took, he got harder and harder to look at.

Suddenly, he turned around. As soon as he did, Liz froze mid step. She was frightened to look around, even if she kept her head stationary, lest he catch her and kill her. She couldn’t tell if anyone else was moving aside from Bell, who she could see out of the corner of her eye. Fortunately, the other woman was completely still.

It seemed that everyone else was as well, as Jeremy turned to face the wall again. Breathing a sigh of relief, Liz started her walk again. As she went, she quickly checked how the others were going. Kiera was progressing at a similar pace to Liz, while the Brigadier was gradually speeding up. Bell’s stride was brisk while Morgan shuffled along behind. Just as Liz looked back in front of her, she noticed that the Toymaker was still there watching him. She noticed him click his fingers softly enough not to make a sound, and her brow furrowed.

She jumped when she heard Morgan cry out. Something had tripped her up, and just as she started to fall, Jeremy turned around. Liz froze so that her eyes were trained on Morgan as she landed on the black floor, her glasses sliding off and skittering in front of her. Morgan’s eyes widened in fear as Jeremy started towards her, lifeless gaze set on her. 

Her glasses crunched under his shoes as he approached her. Liz watched as he kneeled down in front of her, and resisted the urge to move as he closed his hand around her throat. As Morgan struggled to breathe, the desire to run and save her was overwhelming, but Liz knew that she couldn’t. She’d die too, if she tried, and she had to survive in order to escape. But as Morgan’s gasped for breath and her fists banged on the floor in reaction to the pain, tears started to slide down Liz’s cheeks.

Within three excruciating minutes, Morgan was dead.

Jeremy rose and returned to his original position, leaving Morgan’s corpse face down on the floor. As soon as he turned away from them, Liz rushed to Morgan’s body. Skittering to a halt, she crouched down and put her fingers on Morgan’s wrist. She willed for Morgan’s heart to beat, and for a moment she could’ve sworn she’d felt a faint pulse. But that was just wishful thinking, and Morgan’s pulse was still. Gathering Morgan into her arms, Liz remembered that barely ten minutes ago, Morgan had saved her life. Yet where was Liz when Morgan needed her?

Liz started to sob, and she barely registered Kiera coming up beside her. She shut her eyes, letting the tears fall to Morgan’s now pale skin, and she felt Kiera laying a supportive hand on her shoulder. 

She was barely paying the game any attention, so the voice of the Toymaker caught her off guard. “Congratulations, Alistair, you won.”

Liz looked up to see the Brigadier pulling his hand off of Jeremy’s back. Her gaze shifted to the Toymaker, and she remembered seeing him click his fingers just before Morgan tripped. 

She shouldn’t have been able to trip up. The room was completely empty - there were no obstacles, no bumps in the floor, no loose tiles. Just flat ground. Yet just before Morgan met her end, the Toymaker, the one person who had control over the Toy Room, had clicked his fingers.

Liz saw red. She placed Morgan back on the ground, stood up, and stormed towards the Toymaker. “You killed her!”

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “I did no such thing. Weren’t you watching? That was all our friend Jeremy’s doing.”

“Don’t think I didn’t see you.” Liz was right in front of him now - she wasn’t going to let him get away with this. “You made her fall. You changed the room somehow and timed it so Jeremy would see her move!”

“And why would I do that? I value fairness abo-”

“Don’t lie to me!” Liz raised her hands and shoved the Toymaker, but her hands passed straight through him, and she fell to the floor. She braced herself with her hands, then turned around to find that the Toymaker had vanished.

“Now, why did you do that?” The Toymaker’s voice was disembodied once more. “That wasn’t very nice of you, Elizabeth.”

“You deserved it,” Bell snapped back. “You must’ve done something to make that poor girl trip.”

“I assure you,” the Toymaker started, taking on a softer tone. “I did nothing of the sort. But since you seem so keen on accusing me, I’ll make the next game a little harder. Off you go.”

A curtain at the end of the room slid open, revealing the entrance to the next game. As Bell and the Brigadier proceeded through, Kiera approached to help Liz back up again. As Liz dusted off her dress, Kiera spoke.

“If we win, they’ll come back.”

Liz scoffed. “How do you know?”

“Remember before all this started, the Toymaker said that if we won, he would grant a wish?” Kiera asked. Liz thought back to their first encounter with the Toymaker, and she now that she thought about it, she did remember him saying that. When she nodded, Kiera continued. “If even just one of us manages to beat him, we can wish for Morgan and Jeremy to come back.”

“So there’s still some hope then?”

Kiera nodded. “I rather think there is.”

 

The Brigadier had seen a lot of death in his time. It was simply a part of being in the army - people would die all around you whether you knew them or not. It never grew easier, watching his comrades fall in the line of duty. It just grew more familiar.

Though he’d only just met Jeremy and Morgan, he felt the weight of their passing like any other. If anything, it was Liz’s reaction that made him grieve their loss. He hated when she was broken-hearted, and the look on her face when watching Jeremy fall to the ground, or when she cradled Morgan in her arms…

He wouldn’t let her feel like that anymore. They’d win the game and they’d go home, away from this madman and his games. Though he didn’t speak it out loud, he promised Liz he’d get her out of there.

The next room was somewhat different to the last two in that it wasn’t just a vast, empty space. They stepped out onto a platform overlooking a sprawling maze, and the Brigadier’s heart sank to see the corpses of Jeremy and Morgan standing on another elevated platform in the centre of the labyrinth.

He looked to Liz, who simply shook her head and cast her eyes downwards. He could see her cheeks sparkle with tears, and he gritted his teeth.

“I trust you know the game British Bulldog?” the Toymaker asked. Unlike the game of statues, he’d chosen not to show himself.

“Of course,” Bell replied. “I broke my arm playing that, so it makes sense that you’d like it.”

Over the time they’d been stuck in the Toy Room, the Brigadier found himself admiring the Corporal more than he used to. She’d put on a brave face, speaking to the Toymaker when no one else had the strength to. 

“You know me so well, Carol.” Bell scowled at the Toymakers remark. “Yes. A danger for all the little boys and girls who tackled people down to catch each other. But I think we can do better than just pushing someone over, can’t we?”

As if on cue, long, slender knives appeared in Jeremy and Morgan’s hands. They looked sinister, the flat blackness of the room reflecting in their metal surfaces. The two bodies held them aloft as if to show them off to their targets.

“When I give the word, the platforms will lower into the maze,” the Toymaker started. “Your job is to find your way through to the other side before Morgan and Jeremy here catch you and slice you to pieces.”

The Brigadier shook his head. This whole situation disgusted him, being forced to play childish games with the danger of a violent death. What sort of sick maniac was this Toymaker to put people through such a thing? He couldn’t wait to get up close and personal with the man and punish him the way he deserved.

“Good luck, all,” the Toymaker said as the platform slowly started to sink in the maze. “Don’t run too fast, or I won’t enjoy myself one bit.”

 

Liz couldn’t remember how long she’d been running, but she knew it was long enough for each breath to hurt her. Her legs ached as they pounded against the floor, and she’d long since abandoned her high-heeled boots for practical reasons. Sweat had broken out on her forehead, and she was panting like a dog.

She wasn’t sure if the maze would ever end. Every turn she took seemed to take her back to somewhere she’d been before, and she hadn’t seen any of the others since they were set free to run. There was no sign of Jeremy or Morgan either, which she supposed was a good thing. The thought of her last breath being taken in this hellish place was a frightening one.

Deciding to take a chance, Liz slowed her pace to a brisk walk. She supposed there was no harm in it - it seemed like she was the only person in the maze anyway. Besides, she had a higher chance of running into a friend than a foe.

But as she rounded the next corner, she was greeted by Morgan standing at the end of the corridor.

Liz froze, trying to ignore the fact that the woman who had died in her arms was standing right in front of her. Her eyes fell on the knife, which was clean and shining, much to Liz’s relief. But that relief soon faded when Morgan started charging towards her, sensible brown shoes thumping along the ground.

Cursing herself for her slow reaction, Liz took off around the other corner, her heart in her throat. She could hear Morgan behind her, growing closer and closer with each step. Liz could hear her heartbeat in her head, legs protesting each time her feet hit the ground.

_ I can’t do it. I have to stop. I can’t do it… _

“Hey! Over here!” 

Morgan’s footsteps stopped. Liz skidded to a halt, turning to see who had called out.

It was Kiera. She was standing at the end of the corridor Liz had just come down, looking every inch as red-faced and exhausted as Liz felt. She was panting, but she had a determined look in her eye. 

“Yeah, you heard me!” she called again, and it suddenly occurred to Liz what the woman was doing. “I said get over here!”

“Kiera, stop!” Liz called, her voice wild with panic.

Kiera responded with a shake of her head. As Morgan started to charge towards her, she screamed out for Liz to run and then started to make her own way down an adjacent hallway. Liz wondered if she should go after them, to try and save Keira. But deep down she knew that there would be no point in it. They’d both end up dead if she tried.

Tears streaming down her sweat-soaked face, Liz turned and struggled onwards, moving further and further away from Morgan and Kiera. She barely reacted when she heard Kiera’s shrieks of agony echoing through the maze, and didn’t stop walking as the room was drowned with an eerie quiet.

She was growing more used to death than she ever thought she would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting tense! Hope you all enjoyed - let me know what you thought in a comment


	5. Chapter Five

Bell collapsed at the end of the maze, breathing heavily. She couldn’t quite believe that she’d made it - she thought she’d be dead for sure. But the feeling of joy soon vanished once she noticed she was the only one at the finish line.   
Well, save for the Toymaker. He was looking down at her with that same smug smile he’d worn since they arrived. “Congratulations, Carol. I’m glad you made it - you’re becoming rather a favourite of mine.”  
“Well I can’t say the same about you,” she scowled, getting up and onto her feet. “What’s happened to the others?”  
“Oh, they’re still going. Although you’ve lost one, I’m afraid.”  
Bell’s stomach dropped. “Who?”  
“Kiera.”  
Bell hated how relieved she felt that it wasn’t Liz or the Brigadier. She shouldn’t be happy - Kiera was dead. That was still a life lost, and now their group was down to three. Maybe even less by the time the game was over. But although she loathed herself for it, she was glad that Kiera was the one to die.  
The Toymaker’s grin widened. “You’re happy, aren’t you?”  
“Don’t say that,” Bell growled.   
“Oh, but you are. You never cared about Kiera - I can tell.”  
Bell shut her eyes in shame, but she opened them again at the sound of footsteps pounding behind her. She turned to see the Brigadier, sprinting for his life as Jeremy followed in hot pursuit. Her commanding officer’s eyes lit up at the sight of her, and he picked up his pace. Bell clapped her hands together as the Brigadier skidded over the finish line. The corpse of Jeremy turned instantly, then ran off in search of his final target.  
The Brigadier ignored the Toymakers words of congratulations to catch his breath, and then he turned to Bell. “Any sign of Miss Shaw?”  
As Bell shook her head, the Toymaker decided he’d interject. “Oh, Elizabeth is near. In fact, I suspect she’ll make it soon. But it’s two against one. You’re an army man, Alistair - you know the outcome of these things.”  
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m an army woman,” Bell snapped. “And if I know Liz, two corpses will be no match for her.”  
The Toymaker raised his eyebrows, looking to the exit of the maze. “We’ll see.”  
The wait for Liz was excruciating. It was even worse knowing that the Toymaker knew her exact location. But if Bell or the Brigadier asked him, he wouldn’t tell them. Bell hated the uncertainty of it all - not knowing whether Liz was going to survive or not. It didn’t agree with the Brigadier either, judging from his anxious pacing.   
“Ah,” the Toymaker said, finally breaking his silence. “Here she comes now.”  
Bell’s heart skipped a beat as she saw the exhausted form of Liz struggling towards the finish line. She looked worse for wear - her shoes were missing, her face was red and covered in sweat, and her eyes were watery with tears. Bell swallowed - she must have found out about Kiera.  
“Come on, Liz,” Bell muttered under her breath. Liz was obviously doing the best she could, but each step looked like an ordeal. Bell couldn’t stand it - any minute now, Jeremy or Morgan were going to appear. Wasting no time thinking about the consequences, Bell bolted back into the maze.  
“Corporal! Get back here!” she heard the Brigadier yell, but she was too close to Liz to obey him.  
Bell grabbed Liz’s arm and slung it over her shoulder, nodding as Liz muttered a faint thank you. She started to help Liz to the finish line, the scientist dragging her bare feet. Every rasping breath gave Bell more reason to go on - she wasn’t going to let go of Liz until they reached that finish line.  
The Brigadier soon ran to join them, taking Liz’s other arm. With their combined strength, they managed to pull Liz towards the end, and they all collapsed in relief by the Toymaker’s feet. He looked down at them, scowling.  
“I suppose that’s the magic of teamwork.”  
Bell shot him a sardonic smile. “I suppose it is.”  
The Toymaker snapped his fingers, the walls of the maze closing shut at the sound. “Well, no matter. There are always more games to play, and the next one is right behind you.”  
Bell looked up to see the room before her opening up into a circle. Once again, the walls and floor were a dull black, save for the neon green disc in the center of the room. The empty husks of Jeremy, Morgan, and Kiera were spaced evenly around the edge of the room. Bell winced as she noticed the waterfall of blood seeping from Kiera’s slit throat.  
“This game is called poison,” the Toymaker announced, stepping into the ring. After making sure Liz could stand, the trio followed after him. “Your goal is to stay out of the green, which may be a little difficult. Our good, dead friends here will be trying to push you in. First one to touch the poison - that being the green circle - will die, and the others may continue to the next round.”  
The Toymaker gestured for them to step further into the ring, which they did. Bell kept a close eye on Liz - she looked in no way well enough to play this idiotic game. But, under the watery eyes filled with grief, a light of determination shone. It was all Bell needed to convince herself that, in the end, everything might just turn out alright.  
They were instructed to stand parallel to one of the bodies. Bell guided Liz towards Morgan, deciding that she was the one who she’d outrun the easiest. The Brigadier stood adjacent to Kiera, and Bell to Jeremy.  
At the clap of the Toymaker’s hands, Jeremy charged towards her. Bell sidestepped out of the way, taking a moment to decide her strategy as Jeremy stumbled. Keep on the other side of the green at all times. It would be just like playing tag with her brother - always mirror his movements.  
Bell made a mad dash to the other side of the green, ducking past Liz as she narrowly avoided a shove from Morgan. Soon Bell was where she needed to be, directly opposite Jeremy. When Jeremy stepped to the right, so did Bell.   
She was so occupied with Jeremy that she didn’t even notice the Brigadier struggling against Kiera. It was only when he cried out in frustration that she gave him any notice, and she jumped at the sight of Kiera holding his face just above the poison.  
That moment of distraction was all Jeremy needed to gain the upper hand. Bell soon found herself being tackled to the ground, the young man holding her down with an iron grip. Bell struggled to get free as Jeremy dragged her towards the poison, her head pinned down so her only view was of the Brigadier.   
She watched in horror as Kiera forced the side of his face into the poison. The moment they collided, the Brigadier yelled out in pain, and Bell’s mouth hung open as she saw the green starting to burn his skin. His crying turned to shrieking in agony as the acidic poison ate away at him, and Bell shut her eyes the moment it started burning through to the bone.   
She wanted him to stop. His screams pierced her ears, and she felt a tear slide down her cheek. Soon, his voice became garbled, and then, nothing. Bell hesitantly opened her eyes and whimpered as she saw the disfigured remains of the Brigadier’s face before her.  
When Bell felt Jeremy’s grip loosen, Bell scrambled towards the Brigadier’s body, and she was soon joined by Liz. The other woman lifted him from the acid and put her fingers to his neck, and Bell held her breath as she waited for Liz to find a pulse. Liz shut her eyes and shook her head, and Bell went numb.   
“Oh, how sad,” the Toymaker said, sounding the exact opposite. “I think you’ll miss him most of all.”  
“He didn’t deserve this,” Liz whispered. “None of them did.”  
The Toymaker folded his arms. “You forget - you brought this on yourself. You didn’t have to come here in the first place.”  
Liz stood up, glowering. “We came here to rescue my friends.”   
“And just look how well that’s gone. You couldn’t save any of them - not Jeremy, not Morgan, not Kiera. Not even Alistair, and he was the one you cared about the most. But don’t waste your time yelling at me. You do have more games to play, remember?”  
With that, the Toymaker vanished, leaving Liz and Bell behind with the Brigadier’s corpse.

It had been difficult to abandon the Brigadier’s body, but they had no choice. As Liz and Bell continued on through the next doorway, they’d found themselves stepping into the hollow void that seemed to surround the Toy Room. Only this time, they didn’t fall. An invisible pathway lay before them, and a rectangular light in the distance was the only indication of where to go next.  
They’d remained silent during their walk, but about halfway through, Bell spoke up. “None of this feels real.”  
Liz, who’d had her eyes cast downward, looked up. “How do you mean?”  
“It’s just that in real life, this would never happen,” Bell explained. “It’s not like what we usually deal with at UNIT. Every time I’ve always had the comfort of knowing where I am, of having solid ground beneath my feet.” She looked down at the emptiness below her. “And here, I don’t even have that.”  
“It is rather surreal, isn’t it?”  
Bell nodded. Liz looked up to their guide - it didn’t seem to get any closer no matter how far they walked.   
“The thought of the Brig dying never crossed my mind.”  
Liz turned her head back to Bell. For the first time since Liz had met her, she was crying. It was silent - there was no sobbing, no gasping for breath. Just tears slowly sliding down her face. Liz had to blink back tears of her own, but she felt so numb that the Brigadier’s death hadn’t fully registered. She supposed it was Kiera’s words from before that kept her from breaking down completely.  
“I can’t say I thought about it either,” Liz replied. “But nothing about this feels permanent.”  
“Hm?”  
“Well, Kiera told me, just after Morgan…” Liz faltered, but continued on after exhaling. “She told me that we could save them all. How if we win, the Toymaker will let us wish for their lives back.”  
“That’s some comfort, I suppose,” Bell said. “We just have to win first.”

For a moment, Liz forgot where she was. After finally coming to the end of the void, she and Bell had stepped through into a room quite unlike anywhere else in the Toymaker’s domain.  
No longer were they surrounded by dull, flat blacks. The ground was paved with gold, ostentatious sculptures of trees and their branches winding up marble columns. The same marble made up the walls, illustrations of various schoolyard games painted in between windows that showed only darkness. A dazzling chandelier hung from the ceiling, thousands upon thousands of tiny crystals dangling from the golden frame.   
In the centre of the room stood the Toymaker himself, his hand resting on the shoulder of the Brigadier’s upright corpse. The moment Liz laid eyes on the mutilated face of the man she cared so deeply about, the splendour of the room seemed to fade.  
“I’m glad you found us,” the Toymaker spoke. “I was worried you’d got lost.”  
“Just tell us what to do,” Bell sighed, cutting straight to the chase. Liz noticed that Bell was finding it difficult to look at the Brigadier, keeping her eyes to the ground. If Liz had the option, she would’ve, but this situation required strength. The strength to do what she didn’t want to.  
The Toymaker raised his eyebrows. “Well, since you’re so eager, I’ll tell you.” He paused, glancing sideways at the Brigadier. “Actually, I’ll let Alistair start us off. Alistair?”  
On the Toymaker’s command, the Brigadier raised his arms in front of him, palms open. The movement was stiff, like he’d already become one of the Toymaker’s dolls. Liz shuddered as he spoke - despite having half his face burned off, he spoke with perfect, almost robotic clarity.   
“Here comes a poor soldier from Botany Bay. What have you got to give him to-day?”  
The Toymaker smirked. Whether it was at the Brigadier's speech or Bell’s pained reaction, Liz didn’t know. He started to explain the game, his voice sounding even smugger than it ever had. “And there’s the title of our game. Your job is to name what you’d give him, and go back and forth and back and forth until the list is too long to remember and one of you trips up. Then Alistair here will make short work of you, and you’ll be dead. Liz, would you like to start us off?”  
No, she didn’t want to start them off. But there was no way around it, so she drew in a deep breath, and began. “I’ll give him some tea.”  
The Toymaker looked expectantly at Bell. “I’ll give him some tea and a cup.”  
“I’ll give him some tea, a cup, and a saucer.”  
The two of them carried on, the list growing longer and longer until Liz feared that missing something out was inevitable. But she managed to get through the entire thing each time, and fortunately, Bell did as well. Yet it was so hard - the Brigadier wouldn’t stop staring at her. His empty eyes bored into her own, making her feel oh so very cold.   
Bell was doing the smart thing. She wasn’t looking at him, her eyes glued firmly to her shoes, removing any distraction held by the Brigadier. The more Liz watched him, rattling off the list as best she could, the more memories resurfaced in her mind.   
Of their first meeting over the phone, organising the details of her new position. Of the first time she saw him, thinking how striking he looked in his uniform. Of being so scared for his life during each and every alien invasion. Of all the times they just had time to chat and laugh and get along with one another. Of the very last time she saw him at the station.  
Liz didn’t realise how tight her chest felt until she heard Bell calling her name. Suddenly she was on her knees, a waterfall of tears cascading down her cheeks, her body shaking with each heaving, gasping sob. She felt Bell’s hand on her shoulder, and after briefly regarding the Corporal, she gave the Toymaker her full attention.  
“I can’t do it. I can’t face him anymore.” Each word was an ordeal, and she found it difficult to speak through the thickness in her throat. It dawned on her that they’d be the last words she’d ever say, that now she’d conceded defeat, her life would be at an end.  
But in a way, she didn’t mind. Better to die now than to live with the hollow grief that clung to her heart.   
Without breaking eye contact with Liz, the Toymaker summoned a knife out of thin air and placed it in the Brigadier’s outstretched palm. Closing his hand around the wooden handle, the soldier slowly stepped towards Liz. Stooping to her level, he rested the knife against her throat and slashed the blade through her without hesitation.  
And suddenly, Liz felt nothing at all.

Bell’s heart was breaking.  
There was no one left. First all three of Liz’s friends, then the Brigadier, and now Liz herself. Staring at Liz’s limp form, blood pooling by the wound in her neck, Bell felt more alone than she ever had in her life. It was all up to her now. Whatever the Toymaker had planned for the last one standing, she was the only one left to face up to it. And it scared the hell out of her.  
“Well, looks like it’s just you and me, Carol.” Bell looked up to the Toymaker. He looked so pleased with himself… Bell would’ve gladly taken the knife and killed him right there.  
“Whatever you’re going to do, you’d best get it over with,” Bell said, trying her best to sound like she wasn’t dying inside.  
The Toymaker snapped his fingers, and Bell could only watch in horror as Liz’s still form rose to its feet, then made its way across the golden floor to the Toymaker. The corpse of the Brigadier collapsed and faded into nothingness as Liz took her place beside the Toymaker.  
“That’s better,” the Toymaker said, glancing from Liz then back to Bell. “I didn’t fancy having no one on my side.”  
“Just tell me what to do next,” Bell snapped. She had to get out of there. She had to save them all. But she couldn’t do it alone.  
“You’re an impatient one, aren’t you? But yes, a fast game’s a good game, isn’t that what they say?” After speaking, the Toymaker beckoned Bell towards him. Hesitating a little, she started towards him, obeying as he gestured for her to halt exactly in the centre of the room.  
A gun and a strip of fabric appeared in the Toymakers hands. He held them out to Bell, who took the items with some confusion. “Now, this is a game of my own design. You’ll put the blindfold on, and Liz and I will walk around you. Your goal is to shoot me - achieve this goal and you’ll be able to save your friends and go back home. Shoot Liz, however, and you’ll be stuck here forever. Is that clear?”  
Bell looked down at the gun and blindfold in her shaking hands. Everything she’d been through, all the unnecessary deaths and the torturous games had all come down to this. Bell now had the lives of Jeremy, Morgan, Kiera, the Brigadier, and Liz in her hands, and for a moment she doubted if she could handle the pressure.   
No. All five of them had died for no good reason. She wasn’t going to let these arduous hours in the Toy Room be their last moments.   
And she wasn’t going to let them be hers, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion! In the meantime, let me know what you thought of this chapter in a comment!


	6. Chapter Six

Corporal Bell was blind. Her world was black, with nothing but a sliver of light in the bottom of her eyeline to indicate that there was still a world around her. But she needed to see everything, and she couldn’t. Her clammy hands clasped the cold handle of the gun, finger resting on the trigger.

She had to shoot someone. Be it the Toymaker or Liz, someone was going to end up with a bullet inside them.

They could be anywhere. Either side of her, close or far away. They could’ve left the room and Bell would be none the wiser. But she could hear them. It was her only sign that she hadn’t been abandoned yet.

Holding the gun out in front of her, Bell slowly started to pivot. She kept alert, hoping that she’d be able to hear something that gave away the Toymaker. She had to fire at him - shoot him, and she’d win. 

Her own breathing seemed so loud. She couldn’t think over it, so she slowed herself down. Although breathing shallowly did nothing for her already racing heart, she didn’t want to take any chances. It was good - now she could think. She could listen.

_ Listen for the clicking of Liz’s heels. No, she’s abandoned them in the maze. Concentrate. What sets the Toymaker apart from Liz? Close in on the sounds. A light slapping. Bare feet on marble - it’s her. Shut it out. Where is the Toymaker? His robes should be rustling, sweeping across the floor. But it isn’t there. He’s quiet - aim where the silence is. There’s everything to lose. Get this wrong and it’s all over. Find the silence. Aim. _

_ Fire. _

As the gun went off, there was no cry of pain. No thud as a body collapsed to the floor. Nothing. Bell wondered if she’d missed, if she’d made the wrong judgement. But surely the Toymaker would mock her if she had? Or perhaps he wasn’t speaking so as to not give away his position. Did she dare to take off the blindfold and check?

The Toymaker never said she couldn’t. With her free hand, Bell reached for the fabric and pulled it off her head, dragging strands of hair with it. She couldn’t believe when she saw the Toymaker standing right in front of her with a bullet hole in his chest.

Bell began to laugh - she’d won! She’d saved them all! She could wish for everyone back and they could leave once and for all. But she faltered when she saw the Toymaker smiling back at her, chuckling himself.

“Why are you laughing?” she asked, a dull panic sitting in her stomach. “I won, you lost. You shouldn’t be happy.”

The Toymaker sighed, shaking his head. “Oh, Carol, Carol, Carol. You really thought it would be that easy? That you’d beat me, I’d bring back your friends, and you’d all live happily ever after? You’re more naive than I thought.”

“What are you talking about?” The feeling of dread made Bell’s blood run cold.

“By winning, you’ve destroyed me. Destroying me means destroying my world - the Toy Room. You can’t escape a world that doesn’t exist, can you, Carol?”

The last thing Bell felt was a burning heat as the Toy Room cracked apart, the Toymaker cackling as the ground gave way below her and she started to fall.

 

Void.

An empty void.

There was nothing there.

No colour. No sound. No lights. No air. 

Yet she could breathe.

There was no ground beneath her feet, but she was standing. She could move, but there was nothing for her body to pass through. She could see, but there was nothing to look at. No winds blew her. She couldn’t make a sound, even when she yelled and screamed and cried.

She couldn’t live like this. Not in this vast emptiness. This was no place for a human being. She had a life. She had things to look forward to. There were people she wanted to talk to. Things she wanted to do. Apologies to make. Milestones to reach. All of that was impossible here.

There was nothing here.

Bell fell to the ground, frightened when her knees didn’t connect with anything. She couldn’t tell if she was crying - she was numb all over. She barely registered her mouth moving, and she had no idea what she was saying or why she was saying it. She could vaguely make out the words her lips were forming, recognising her tongue touching her teeth to form an L, her lips pushing outwards to form an O. 

She wanted to hear something. She wanted to touch something, anything. She was already going mad.

The Toymaker had done this to her. She should’ve known he’d trick her like this. She should’ve known they’d never see the light of day again. It was sad really. The Toymaker had held up his end of the bargain - technically, she wasn’t in the Toy Room anymore. 

The bargain. She’d won. She needed her reward. Though she was mute, she had one last thing to say. 

_ I wish this had never happened to us. _

 

“Corporal? Corporal, wake up!”

Bell’s eyes fluttered open, then shut immediately as she was blinded by the sun. Hang on… She shouldn’t be able to see the sun. She’d fallen into the void outside the Toy Room, she’d been completely alone, like she hadn’t existed at all. But she could feel the ground below her, the heat of the sun on her skin, the sounds of waves crashing against the sand in her ears.

Bolting upright, Bell looked around her. She was in the middle of the street, right outside the toy shop that had been the start of all this madness. Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell on the Brigadier and Liz, both looking at her with a mixture of confusion and concern etched onto their faces. Bell broke into a smile and threw her arms around the nearby Liz, who tilted backwards at the sudden embrace.

“Bell, what are you doing?” she asked, laughing dumbfoundedly. 

Bell pulled away, looking into Liz’s eyes and smiling like a mad woman. “We did it! We made it out!”

As Bell scrambled towards the Brigadier, she took a moment to wonder whether she should hug her superior officer. But what the hell - she’d seen him killed, and now he was standing right before her, fit as a fiddle. When would be a better time?

“Made it out of where?” Liz asked, then burst into another fit of laughter as Bell pulled the Brigadier into a big hug.

“Corporal, please let go of me,” the Brigadier protested, but he didn’t seem to mind it as much as his words suggested.

After letting go of the Brigadier, Bell turned back to Liz. “What do you mean, “made it out where?” We won! We beat the Toymaker!”

“Beat the what?” Liz’s brow furrowed in confusion. “You must have had a dream when that light knocked us unconscious…”

“Dream?” Bell trailed off, her elation starting to fade. Surely not… it had all felt too real to be a dream. She looked back to the toy shop, the painted wooden door closed shut. Frowning, Bell walked towards it, twisting the doorknob and pulling on it. Unlike the first time she tried it, it came open easily, revealing nothing more than the dusty interior she’d seen through the window.

She heard the Brigadier’s footsteps behind her. “It’s gone.”

“But how?” Liz walked past Bell into the toy shop, pivoting as she gazed at the all-too-normal area. “Surely we couldn’t have got rid of the light just by touching it?”

The Brigadier looked to Bell with curiosity. “Corporal, you mentioned something about a Toymaker. Would you care to explain?”

“When we touched the light we fell through it,” Bell started, looking between her two friends. “We arrived in this Toy Room. Well, that’s what the Toymaker called it, anyway. And he made us play all these games against each other, and we all, we all…” As images of brutal murder flashed before Bell’s eyes, she found she couldn’t go on.

But in her moment of quiet, Bell realised why it seemed Liz and the Brigadier couldn’t remember. Her wish… She wished it had never happened to them. She’d wiped it out of time - the Toymaker, the Toy Room, the games - all of it. They couldn’t remember, because it didn’t exist.

And she’d made that happen.

Liz and the Brigadier exchanged worried glances. Good lord, they thought she was crazy, didn’t they? Since they couldn’t remember their ordeal in the Toy Room, everything she just said sounded completely improbable.

“I think perhaps you just had a bad dream,” the Brigadier tried to reassure her.

Liz shrugged. “Stranger things have happened. But if we can get inside now, we should look around. We might be able to find my friends.”

That was when it clicked. If Bell could find Jeremy, Morgan, and Kiera, then perhaps some kind of memory would flicker in their minds. Even if that didn’t happen, it would give her proof that everything that had happened with the Toymaker was one hundred per cent real.

Bell turned to Liz, a newfound sense of hope filling her. “Liz, where did you say you last saw your friends?”

“At the Pleasure Beach. Why?”

Bell’s eyes darted towards the Brigadier. “Sir, permission to prove my point?”

“I suppose, but-”

Before he could even finish, Bell took off, determined to reunite Liz with her friends once and for all. She didn’t even look back to see if Liz and the Brigadier were following her, but from the sounds of them calling to her, she knew they weren’t too far behind.

 

After chasing Bell down the street and onto the Pleasure Beach, it had become a mission to find her amongst the crowds. The Brigadier pushed his way through the holiday goers, Liz following close behind, trying his best to keep up with the Corporal. He hoped she hadn’t completely snapped - he didn’t fancy the idea of losing another of his best soldiers.

As the pair made their way to an emptier area, Liz cried out. “There they are!”

Liz dashed ahead before the Brigadier could even see what she was talking about. His gaze soon fell on the figure of Corporal Bell crouching beside three young people who looked like they’d seen better days. He jogged to catch up with the women, arriving to find Liz embracing all three of them excitedly.

“You were there! All of us, we were in the Toy Room!” Bell cried, gathering the attention of those around her.

“What’s she on about?” asked the young blond man Liz currently had her arms wrapped around.

The Brigadier looked to him with exasperation. “I wish I knew. Corporal, do slow down and tell us in clear terms what it is you’re talking about.”

Bell took a moment to compose herself, then straightened up to address her attentive yet confused audience.

“You three, Jeremy, Morgan, and Kiera, vanished, right?” When greeted by nods, Bell continued. “Well, we came to look for you. There was this portal inside the toy shop we traced you to, and…”

 

Although Bell’s story seemed a little far-fetched, it was the only explanation the Brigadier had as to why everything was suddenly alright. They’d gone back to the Doctor’s machine, the one that had alerted them to an otherworldly presence in the first place, and turned it on. It greeted them with silence. He decided he’d take Bell’s strange story about Toymakers and deadly games for now, but the thought of getting her a proper psychiatric test had occurred to him. 

In the meantime, their party of six decided they’d celebrate their supposed victory at a nearby pub. Though the reasons for it were dubious, the Brigadier found himself enjoying his beer far more than he probably should.

As he sipped at it, Liz took a seat beside him. He was surprised to see her - he would’ve thought she’d want to spend the evening celebrating her rediscovered friends.

“Tired of your friends already, are you?” the Brigadier asked. He kicked himself for not wording it better, but Liz didn’t seem to mind.

“No. But Bell’s got them entertained with stories about aliens, and you looked lonely, so here I am.”

The Brigadier gave a lopsided grin. “Did I now?”

“Rather,” Liz said with a smile. As she ordered herself some wine from the bar, the Brigadier realised that this may be the last time he’d get to speak to her properly. No doubt he and Bell would go back to HQ fairly soon, and Liz would go back to Cambridge after finishing off her holiday. So as the Brigadier thought about how he could make it count, Liz said something that surprised him.

“Before you arrived, Bell told me that the scientific adviser position was open again. Is that true?”

Did she want to come back? No, that was just wishful thinking. “Yes, it is. The Doctor’s left us rather in the lurch.”

“He’s good at that,” Liz said as the bartender delivered her wine. She nodded a thank you and raised it to her lips. “Have you found anyone to replace him?”

The Brigadier shook his head. “No, not yet. I don’t think I really want to replace him, though I’ve got to get around to it sometime.”

Liz was silent for a moment, staring into the deep red liquid in her glass. “I don’t suppose I’d be able to apply?”

The Brigadier couldn’t quite believe what he’d just heard. So she really did want to come back… He’d honestly thought she was happy at Cambridge, and the lack of contact they’d sustained over the years was more than a hint that UNIT was out of her life for good. Of course, he did want her back, more than anything. 

Liz would be more than capable of dealing with the UNIT lifestyle, and he trusted her as much as he trusted his personal staff. If it was what she wanted, he’d let her have it. Goodness knew why she did want it - perhaps Bell’s story had changed her mind, as gruesome as it was. So he looked to her, and when their eyes met, the Brigadier found he couldn’t help the smile from appearing on his face.

“Miss Shaw, the job’s as good as yours.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is finally done - it only took me several months to get the final chapter out. Anyway, thanks to everyone who read this and to those who beta read it - ya'll make my day! This isn't the last story in The Doctor-less UNIT AU, so keep an eye out for the next one!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Did you enjoy it? Let me know in a comment!


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